LM Dr. Dana Mackenzie is a USCF Life Master, a PhD mathematician, and an award-winning mathematics, science journalist and author. LM Dana Mackenzie started playing tournament chess during the "Fischer boom" of 1971-72 and never quit. Champion of North Carolina in 1985 & 1987, he became a master in 1988. Mackenzie now lives in Santa Cruz, CA and runs a chess club for kids at the local library. His passion for chess and his enthusiasm for teaching is unmistakable.

LM Dr. Dana Mackenzie is a USCF Life Master, a PhD mathematician, and an award-winning mathematics, science journalist and author. LM Dana Mackenzie started playing tournament chess during the "Fischer boom" of 1971-72 and never quit. Champion of North Carolina in 1985 & 1987, he became a master in 1988. Mackenzie now lives in Santa Cruz, CA and runs a chess club for kids at the local library. His passion for chess and his enthusiasm for teaching is unmistakable.

LM Dr. Dana Mackenzie is a USCF Life Master, a PhD mathematician, and an award-winning mathematics, science journalist and author. LM Dana Mackenzie started playing tournament chess during the "Fischer boom" of 1971-72 and never quit. Champion of North Carolina in 1985 & 1987, he became a master in 1988. Mackenzie now lives in Santa Cruz, CA and runs a chess club for kids at the local library. His passion for chess and his enthusiasm for teaching is unmistakable.

M David Vigorito gives an overview of what to do when a game goes outside theory, beyond tactics and you are over the board and on your own. Over a series of three example games he delves into what the considerations are on the board and how to make decisions.

GM Jesse Kraai gives us a modern look at the strategy and tactics of Aron Nimzowistch. Aron Niemzowitsch ( November 7, 1886 – March 16,1935) was a Russian born, Danish leading chess master[and a very influential chess writer. He was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns. Nimzowitsch is considered one of the most important players and writers in chess history. His works influenced numerous other players, including Savielly Tartakower, Milan Vidmar, Richard Reti, Akiba Rubinstein, Brent Larsen and Tigran Petrosian.His influence is still felt today.

Beginner chess players win and lose with tactics. It is just that simple for the beginner chess player. If you are not constantly looking for tactical opportunities to win material, gain space, or to seize the initiative, you are not playing good chess. The best chess players win by forcing moves, which are moves that threaten tactics and make your opponent react.

If you are not playing aggressive chess, you are not playing good chess. The game is just that simple! I have beat many players that are much higher rated than me and should be better than me, but I played more aggressively. If you come out swinging from the very first moves in a game, constantly striving to create threats and place pressure on your opponent you are going to be playing winning chess.

The secret to winning chess games is very simple – YOU MUST ATTACK! If you like to open passively and slowly build a strong defensive position, you are playing bad chess! To win games in chess, you must be attacking. You can’t wait your opponent to make a mistake because that is not going to win you any games! The best players in the world try to create at least one threat with every single move; why can’t beginner chess players do the exact same thing?

In this chess DVD, GM Damian Lemos stresses the importance of paying attention to the underlying balance of the position and to remain alert to the changing dynamics of any position and be ready to adapt and change to a more solid, defensive posture.

If you want to win more games, you have to attack your opponent and can not be scared to sacrifice to break through with an attack. There are an overwhelming variety of sacrifices and reasons for making sacrifices – you could give up a pawn to seize the initiative or gain space, you could sacrifice an exchange to change the dynamic of a position, or you could make a positional sacrifice by allowing doubled, isolated pawns but gaining a dangerous attack against your opponent’s king.

The positional sacrifice is one of the hardest concepts to learn in chess because it requires a profound understanding of the game. Many beginner and intermediate players vastly overemphasize the importance of material in chess, failing to utilize the massive benefits that a positional sacrifice can bring.

If you want to be a strong chess player, you have to constantly attack your opponents! The best players in the world strive to make a threat with every single move, consistently applying pressure and creating problems that their opponents are forced to solve. Chess has evolved substantially in the past 100 years and to succeed in today’s game, you must be thoroughly dedicated to attacking chess.

The opening is the most critical phase in chess. If you are an extremely aggressive player, from the very first moves striving to place pressure on your opponent – you will thrive in the opening and achieve great positions early in your games. However if you are a passive player and prefer to build a solid position before creating threats against your opponent’s position, you will never achieve good positions in the opening because your opponent will have a free reign to seize the initiative and start attacking you

Newly formatted and updated! Fourteen chapters illustrate the explanations and thinking behind every tactical concept. Learn to use pins, single and double forks, double attacks, skewers, discovered and double checks, multiple threats and other crushing tactics to gain an immediate edge. Each concept is fully explained in easy-to-understand language with diagrams, examples and game situations so you understand the thinking and game plan behind every moves.

Winning Chess Tactics Tactics and Combinations, Compiled and Explained by One of the World's Top Chess Players

Catalog Code: B0196EM

This is the second in Seirawan's four volumes, taking the reader from the very basics of chess through appreciation of advanced play. He does a remarkable job of discussing tactics that usually appear only in books for advanced players and communicating them to anyone with a grasp of playing fundamentals. The first part of the book deals with basic tactics and how they can be used individually and in combination. In the second part, Seirawan introduces some of the great chess tacticians and their games, further illustrating tactics as they work out in real-life play.

Chess enthusiasts of all ages and levels will find this book an instructive delight. In a simple, easy-to-understand format it explains how to bamboozle your chess opponents using commonly occurring tactical motifs. The illustrative positions, all taken from real games, show the 50 Tricky Tactics that experienced chess masters use to win their games. Recognizing frequently-occurring tactical ideas is vital to success in chess. One of the fastest and most enjoyable ways to improve at chess is by learning these thematic manoeuvres. Beginners will benefit from the clear explanation of basic concepts, such as how to utilise a fork, pin, or skewer. Advanced players will delight in the many devious middlegame tricks - some classified here for the first time - which can catch out even grandmasters.

Once a chess player has figured out how all the chess pieces move, what is the next step on the chess ladder? This helpful and entertaining book provides players with the complete answer. In this easy-to-follow guide, renowned chess teacher Chris Ward explains all the crucial checkmating patterns, plus how to catch out opponents with an assortment of tricks and traps, commonly known as chess tactics.

How to Calculate Chess Tactics A Revealing Look at the Nuts and Bolts of Chess Thought

Catalog Code: B0080GB

Thinking methods are at the heart of the chess struggle, yet most players devote little conscious effort to improving their calculating ability. Much of the previous literature on the subject has presented idealized models that have limited relevance to the hurly-burly of practical chess, or else provide little more than ad hoc suggestions. Here, experienced trainer Valeri Beim strikes a balance by explaining how to use intuition and logic together to solve tactical problems in a methodical way. He also offers advice on when it is best to calculate 'like a machine', and when it is better to rely on intuitive assessment.

Combinations are the central element in chess; they make the game so magical and captivating. The beautiful point of sacrificing a queen, the strongest piece, in order to checkmate with a lowly pawn brings a smile of joy to all chess lovers. Virtually all chess games possess a combination, either one hidden in the shadows of analysis carefully avoided or one that provides a decisive blow.

This book covers all the tactical themes and typical traps in the main lines of the English, the Dutch and the Reti, as well as a couple of interesting gambits. They are explained in more than 200 carefully selected and annotated short games.

Any chess enthusiast knows how important tactics are in chess and how crucial it is to make a thorough study of this aspect of the game. But up to now opinion has been divided on the best way of studying tactics. The well-known Soviet international grandmaster and chess author Averbakh has developed an entirely novel approach, which is expounded in the third edition of his Chess Tactics for Advanced Players.

This rich book on chess tactics proposes a revolutionary method for finding winning moves. Charles Hertan has made an astonishing discovery: the failure to consider key moves is often due to human bias. Your brain tends to disregard many winning moves because they are counter-intuitive or look unnatural.

This rich book on chess tactics proposes a revolutionary method for finding winning moves. Charles Hertan has made an astonishing discovery: the failure to consider key moves is often due to human bias. Your brain tends to disregard many winning moves because they are counter-intuitive or look unnatural.

The Art of Attacking Chess 33 Inspiration and Instructive Masterpieces

Catalog Code: B0024GB

All chess-players love to play a smooth attacking game, flowing from start to finish, and sprinkled with spectacular ideas and sacrifices. However, few can do so regularly, and for most players, their collection of brilliancies missed far outweighs their creative successes. Innate talent plays an important role, but many of the skills needed for attacking chess can be learned by study and practice. Here, one of the world's most experienced annotators has selected 33 superb examples, and explained them in a way that strips away the mystery.

How to Crush Your Chess Opponents An Inspiring Guide for the Modern Attacker

Catalog Code: B0025GB

Simon Williams, one of Britain's most dynamic and aggressive chess-players, has selected his favourite attacking games from the modern era, and annotated them with an infectious zeal that will inspire and instruct. He takes us inside the decision-making process, explaining how each stage in an attacking concept is formed, and shows how top players spot the signs that indicate it is time to stake everything on an all-out assault. We also get insights into the role of intuition and calculation in both attack and defence

There is no easier way to win a game of chess than by luring your opponent into a devious trap. Similarly, there's nothing worse than being the one on the receiving end. Tricks, traps and swindles lie in wait everywhere, especially so in the opening phase of the game, and many battles can be won or saved simply through learning and mastering the most important ones. In this instructive and fun book, Gary Lane looks back through chess history and at modern times to create a list of his own favourite tricks and traps.

Vladimir Vukovic (26 August 1898, Zagreb  18 November 1975, Zagreb) was a Croatian chess writer, theoretician, player, arbiter, and journalist. He was awarded the International Master (IM) title in 1951 and International Arbiter (IA) in 1952.He played for Yugoslavia on second board in the 1st Chess Olympiad at London 1927, posting a record of +7?6=2.

David Levy, International and World expert on computer chess, has analyzed the brilliancies of the masters and, in this book, explains how you can learn to recognize the symptoms and produce your own stunning finishing stroke. Make a small sacrifice and buy this elegant combination of explanation and instruction!

A Course in Chess Tactics A Step-by-Step Approach to Mastering Tactics and Combinations

Catalog Code: B0141GB

Few books present a structured approach to tactics, so this book fills a valuable niche in the ambitious player's library. The authors present each major tactical theme in turn, explaining how it works and providing inspiring examples. They then explain how you can spot the idea in your own games and use it to your advantage.

Calculate Like a Grandmaster Learn from the World-Class Attacking Players

Catalog Code: B0112BT

This is a penetrating study of the attacking methods of the most aggressive chess players of the modern era-from 1960s world champion Mikhail Tal to Magnus Carlsen, teenage leader of today's new wave of deadly attackers. The attacking style is a good choice for any chess competitor, but especially for less advanced players, who will relish the fireworks it produces.

As a Chess Master who has spent many years playing aggressive and attacking chess, I was quite dismayed during a recent visit to my local bookstore. I was in search of a book that covered an array of attacks against many Pawn formations in an organized fashion. Needless to say, my search came up empty. The books on attacking fell short in many ways. Many of the books were simply a small collection of attack games with no instruction about the art of attacking or about the skills required to become a great attacker.

CoffeeHouse Chess Tactics An Astonishing Trip into the World of Competitive Chess

Catalog Code: B0097NIC

With refreshing simplicity, Coffeehouse Chess Tactics shows how to turn bad, even seemingly hopeless positions to our advantage. How to distinguish the essential from the trivial. How to adapt according to the situation on the board. Each game sparkles with some unusual tactical or defensive motif. Along with the games the author describes in eloquent but brutal language the beautiful, sometimes terrible, world of chess "where sport, art and science merge.